Appearance: Almost pitch black, with nice root beer float head and minor lacing.

Smell: Chocolate, molasses and citrus. Yum.

Taste: More Black than IPA. Definite chocolate, molasses and coffee from the roasted malts. Fairly bitter finish, but I am getting more of a burnt, roasted bitterness than an IPA one. However, there is some light pine and citrus.

Feel: Moderate carbonation, medium to full body that is fairly smooth. Very dry finish.

Overall: Tastes more like a hoppy Porter, even if the smell has more obvious IPA notes. I am okay with that though, as it is much better than the IPAs that just seem to have black food coloring added. This is actually a damn fine beer.

Faint roast, light grains, floral hop on the nose. It pours brilliant black under a 2” light tan tinted white foam cap. The bubbles are very fine and the cap is persistent and lacy. The beer offers a very creamy palate with light roast flavors, a slight sweetness from dark sugars but the overall sense is dry with a slight grainy astringency of the finish. There is some hard to identify fruit in the background. An interesting oscillation occurs in the finish between a very light crystal malt type sweetness and a base malt to unmalted barley astringency that is actually quite pleasant. There is enough bitterness to balance the malt but it is not out of bounds. Nicely balanced.

Appearance: Pours a very dark blackish brown with a little hint of amber at the bottom. Lots of bubbles and a big five finger light beige head with good retention. Lots of sticky lacing around the glass.

Taste: Like the smell, a good balance of dark malts and spicy hops. Dark roasted malts with a big taste of chocolate. Dark bread, burnt caramel, toffee, and cracker. A good dose of molasses. A good mix of spicy and mildly bitter hops. Earthy hops, pine resin, and some light citrus with subtle notes of orange and grapefruit. Kind of tastes like an imperial stout with a bigger hop profile.

Appearance:
Deep, dark mahogany colored body that is surprisingly clear when held to the light. Topped by a finger thick beige head that leaves lacing everywhere makes this a very welcoming (and deceiving) beer!

Aroma:
A constant struggle. During one sniff, you'll get vibrant malts and chocolate notes and the next will zesty herbal and grassy hops. Hints of lactose and light brown sugar give this BLACK IPA a delicate sweetness that I can't stop sniffing!

Taste:
The struggle continues with each sip offering up something new to discover. Roasted, nutty malts and caramel. Bitter coffee blends flawlessly with the earthy hops. Pepper appears to be thrown in for good measure. Nutty aftertaste.

Mouthfeel:
Medium to full body with decent carbonation. Very smooth sipper! Finishes a bit dry, but not at all out of character for the style. Inoffensive and easy to drink and enjoy!

Overall:
When I recently visited Minnesota and sought out a selection of beers unavailable in Iowa, I had my favorites lined up (Surly, Steel Toe, & Flat Earth) and knew nothing about this brewery when I took a gamble and grabbed a few bottles of everything they brew and I'm glad I did! Everything thus far has exceeded expectations and this Black IPA is no exception! What we have here is an easy to drink IPA that won't offend anyone, regardless if you favor hops or malts! Grab it and enjoy!

I like the Bitter Neighbor! This beer pours an almost opaque black with thin ecru head that is lacing. The scent reminds me of a nice porter, toffee and espresso tones. The taste is subtlely bitter throughout, but there are fresh hops, caramel and espresso dancing in my mouth. The mouthfeel is medium in body with smooth carbonation. Overall this is a good black IPA and I would have it again...the lower ABV gives this a session possibility.

Picked up a 6-pack from Princeton Liquors. It's interesting to see this style evolve. I've found many black ales too thick, essentially hopped up porters. But this beer takes a lighter body to the hops and it works well. I can see some folks calling it too thin, but it's pretty close to where it should be. Still the hops get a little lost in the dark grains at times, which while common for the style, isn't ideal. The barley offers a bitter, cocoa roast with burnt toast with very little sweet caramel. The hops some off like standard American citrus hits (standard, but certainly not a bad thing) that blend in and out of the barley. Overall, a fine example of the style and a great beer to match any food from the grill, find some.

A - deep and almost impenetrable dark brown, thumb of tan head retained well
S - roasty and some dark fruit, light leafs
T - cola and nutty up front, mild pine hops, roasty finish, tasty but a little lacking in hop flavours
M - medium body with a solid and lasting hop bitterness
O - tasty and leaning to the malty side, it doesn't bring the hops to the forefront like an ipa should, black or otherwise, but its a tasty brew none the less

Pours a dark brown color with almost two fingers of head that had very good retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of lacing is left down the glass.

Aroma is by far the weakest aspect of this beer. It is not giving away much through the nose. A little roast and some peppery hops.

Nice black ale flavor. Not a crazy amount of hop bitterness or flavor, but satisying. I like it because you can also taste the "black" which is often forgotten in this style of ale. Nice roasted and chocolate notes that compliments the caramel and bready malt. Hops give some piney and earthy notes.

Solid body and carbonation. Good texture but it falls off a little quick in the finish so it feels thin.

Impressive for an inexpensive beer. Nice that the "black" can be tasted instead of just for color. Will not win many accolades but I will buy it again.